I never doubted that Michael Jackson could be what he was accused of. There are many persons like him in the world, but we are not aware of most of them because they are not "stars" but common folks. After the Jackson 5 fever and a couple of solo albums, I disconnected from Michael Jackson, from his shouts "a la Diana Ross", his sequins, white stockings, his glove, all crowned with his physical transformation, which I thought was worthy of a science fiction horror movie. I know that for many MJ was the greatest musical and aesthetic entity that the planet gave birth to in the 20th century, but I had a few more interesting idols to listen to via their movies, books or music. I wanted to make this point clear, before reviewing this four-hour documentary about two men who accused Michael Jackson of abuse after he was dead.
Cinematically «Leaving Neverland» is not a great documentary. The aerial shots do not compensate for the concept of the product, which consisted in giving space, liberty and exclusivity to choreographer Wade Robson and businessman James Safechuck, so that they could relate the days when they were Jackson's favorites, with testimonies from their relatives and spouses. I do not agree with the accusations of it being a biased product. A documentary does not have to show two, three, four sides of an issue. It is the cinematic genre par excellence, a multifaceted genre, oblivious to journalistic or communicational requirements. It is not a television report, which, in a few minutes, gathers brief testimonies for and against a subject or personality; and director Dan Reed did not intend to make a long version of a report either, but to dedicate that space to these two men, for which, with the green light of Channel 4 of the United Kingdom, he compiled necessary audiovisual material and interviewed the aforementioned and relatives. When everything was ready, the project was proposed to HBO and the deal was closed.
It is true that four hours is a challenge for the viewers, for they have to sit down and see heads that talk, cry or are left speechless. Moreover, apart from the archive material, Reed did not show his interviewees as normal beings, in their daily activities, to balance the montage. No, the plan was, "Sit down and tell us what happened to you." He did not even take them to the "crime scene." Despite all these conditions, «Leaving Neverland» is a powerful document on the effects and consequences of sexual abuse, on the economic corruption that powerful people induce their victims (and family members) to satisfy their urges. It is also a drama about the feeling of guilt that is generated in the victim, about the liberating effect produced by the breaking of the secret to tell what was experienced, about depression, about mutism, about escape in drugs and alcohol to avoid the truth... And about the responsibility of the parents.
This is the Wade Robson and James Safechuck show. Those who want to hear the voice of MJ's defenders, watch another work. Even if we believe the allegation that Robson and Safechuck are lying, cynical viewers cannot deny that Wade and James are better actors than Brando and De Niro together, in moving or shocking moments that are equated with the most sublime scenes of the careers of those stars.
That is all. If you have the patience, see it, but be warned that you will hear graphic descriptions of the abuse that the protagonists suffered. At least, I think it will keep us all alert in the future, about the fate of the little ones. Now, a documentary is pending... A documentary on the complicity of the fans and the blindness of fanaticism, which ignore the pain of others to feed the fans' myths.
Cinematically «Leaving Neverland» is not a great documentary. The aerial shots do not compensate for the concept of the product, which consisted in giving space, liberty and exclusivity to choreographer Wade Robson and businessman James Safechuck, so that they could relate the days when they were Jackson's favorites, with testimonies from their relatives and spouses. I do not agree with the accusations of it being a biased product. A documentary does not have to show two, three, four sides of an issue. It is the cinematic genre par excellence, a multifaceted genre, oblivious to journalistic or communicational requirements. It is not a television report, which, in a few minutes, gathers brief testimonies for and against a subject or personality; and director Dan Reed did not intend to make a long version of a report either, but to dedicate that space to these two men, for which, with the green light of Channel 4 of the United Kingdom, he compiled necessary audiovisual material and interviewed the aforementioned and relatives. When everything was ready, the project was proposed to HBO and the deal was closed.
It is true that four hours is a challenge for the viewers, for they have to sit down and see heads that talk, cry or are left speechless. Moreover, apart from the archive material, Reed did not show his interviewees as normal beings, in their daily activities, to balance the montage. No, the plan was, "Sit down and tell us what happened to you." He did not even take them to the "crime scene." Despite all these conditions, «Leaving Neverland» is a powerful document on the effects and consequences of sexual abuse, on the economic corruption that powerful people induce their victims (and family members) to satisfy their urges. It is also a drama about the feeling of guilt that is generated in the victim, about the liberating effect produced by the breaking of the secret to tell what was experienced, about depression, about mutism, about escape in drugs and alcohol to avoid the truth... And about the responsibility of the parents.
This is the Wade Robson and James Safechuck show. Those who want to hear the voice of MJ's defenders, watch another work. Even if we believe the allegation that Robson and Safechuck are lying, cynical viewers cannot deny that Wade and James are better actors than Brando and De Niro together, in moving or shocking moments that are equated with the most sublime scenes of the careers of those stars.
That is all. If you have the patience, see it, but be warned that you will hear graphic descriptions of the abuse that the protagonists suffered. At least, I think it will keep us all alert in the future, about the fate of the little ones. Now, a documentary is pending... A documentary on the complicity of the fans and the blindness of fanaticism, which ignore the pain of others to feed the fans' myths.